SECTION 1. Start of Each Period Pregame, First and Third Periods
ARTICLE 1.
a. Pregame Warmup. Prior to regular season games, teams must have access to the field for pregame warm-ups until at least 22 minutes before the opening kickoff. This may be altered in advance through written mutual agreement of the teams. Game management personnel are responsible for administering this rule.
b. When any Squad Member enters the playing enclosure prior to the officials escorting the captains out for the coin toss, the head coach or an assistant coach from that team must be present on the field.
c. When Squad Members are present within the playing enclosure subsequent to the officials’ jurisdiction, they must be wearing their jerseys or have their numerals readily visible. Any player without their numeral readily visible must leave the playing enclosure.
Approved Ruling 3-1-1 I. After the officials’ jurisdiction has begun, a few home team players enter the playing enclosure without their game jersey, and do not have their numeral readily visible. RULING: The players with no game jersey or numeral readily visible must immediately leave the playing enclosure. The head coach or assistant coach(es) on the field may help with this situation.
Approved Ruling 1-4-7 VII. A player enters the field during pre-game warmups after the officials’ jurisdiction begins wearing a tee shirt with (a) an advertisement with the shirt including a number that is readily visible; (b) a social justice message with the shirt including a number that is readily visible; (c) no number readily visible. RULING: The tee shirt in (a) is not allowed by rule as advertisements are not allowed on the uniform or any items of apparel (Exception – Post-season game as outlined in Rule 1-4-5); (b) legal; (c) not allowed as per Rule 3-1-1c. There is no yardage penalty for (a) and (c) but the player must leave the playing enclosure. Officials are encouraged to seek out the Head Coach, Equipment Manager or Game Management to take the appropriate action.
d. Each half shall start with a kickoff.
e. Three minutes before the scheduled starting time, the referee shall toss a coin at midfield in the presence of not more than four field captains from each team and another game official, first designating the field captain of the visiting team to call the coin toss. Before the second half, the referee will obtain the teams’ second-half options.
f. During the coin toss, each team shall remain in the area between the nine-yard marks and its sideline or in the team area. The coin toss begins when the field captains leave the nine-yard marks and ends when the captains return to the nine-yard marks.
PENALTY [f]—Five yards from the succeeding spot [S19].
g. The winner of the toss shall choose one of the following options:
1. To designate which team shall kick off.
2. To designate which goal line their team shall defend.
3. To defer their team’s selection to the second half.
h. The opponent shall then choose option 1 or 2 above, as available.
i. If the winner of the toss chooses option 3 above, then after the opponent’s choice the winner selects the available option (1 or 2 above).
j. For the second half the loser of the toss, or the winner who chooses option 3 above, shall choose option 1 or 2 above. The opponent then chooses the remaining available option.
